Captain Swan One-Shots
by nerdywriter15
Summary: A collection of one-shots and prompts from Tumblr.
1. With Anyone Else

**A/N: This is going to be the place where I post any one shots that I write. I'll continue to add to this as I write more , but I'm also going to be posting some of my older stuff from Tumblr (I'll be labeling that older stuff as "(Old)" in the title in case you'd like to skip it).**

* * *

He never thought that he would have this. Well, he suppose he must have at one point, back when he was a naïve child, back when he was the straight-laced navel lieutenant who saw the world through rose-colored glasses. But then life happened, Liam died, and he became a pirate. And a pirate ship was no place for a little lad or lass. Even after Milah came into his life, he could never bring himself to ask her if she wanted to try. He saw the sadness on her face when she thought that he wasn't looking, when she stared wistfully off into the sunset. He knew that she was thinking of Bae, of the child that she never got to raise. As much as he wanted to (and gods he wanted to, he would have given up his ship, his treasure, everything, just to have a family with her) he couldn't ask her to replace her son. He loved her too much for that. So he resigned himself to the fact that he would never be a father, and told himself he was content just to hold her in his arms every night. And then the Crocodile killed her. If Killian Jones hadn't been sure that he would never be a father before his love was taken from him, he was certainly sure of it now. If he couldn't have a child with Milah, he didn't want one with anyone else.

She never thought that she would have this. When she was younger, she used to hold onto the silent hope that one day she would have a family. Not parents, of course not; she knew that she wasn't good enough for anyone to want her as their child. But maybe one day, she would meet someone, someone who would love her and want her like her parents hadn't, and she and that person would make a family together. When she met Neal, it seemed like her dream would finally become a reality. When, in the middle of that motel room, he told her that he was ready to settle down, when her finger found Tallahassee on that map, she thought that maybe it was finally going to happen. But then life happened, and she found herself sitting in the middle of a jail cell, seventeen, alone, and pregnant. She can still remember that day in the hospital, the day she had to give her baby away. She can still hear his cries as they carried him away, mixed with the sound of her own sobs. From then on, any time Emma Swan gave any thought to having a family or children, all she would hear were the cries of the baby she never got to know, and all she would feel was the intense guilt of what she had done. Some days all she wanted was her baby back, and if she couldn't have him, she didn't want to have another one with anyone else.

And yet, here they both sit many years later in the middle of a hospital room in a town called Storybrooke, Maine. A ring with a red stone adorns the finger on her left hand, while a large gold band hangs from the chain around his neck. If you were to look closely, you would see that both of their eyes are filled with silent tears of joy. Neither of them speaks, too filled with awe and joy at the little bundle wrapped up in her arms. He leans over to press a kiss to the little head covered with a dusting of dark hair, before pressing another kiss to the crown of his wife's head. As they sit there in that hospital room, they both realize that they have everything that they ever wanted, everything that they thought they could never have. And they wouldn't want it with anyone else.


	2. The Kiss

I hadn't expected her to kiss me. I had expected her to roll her eyes, flirt with me a little, and then walk away. I wouldn't have been surprised. That was our pattern, and I was comfortable with it. Talk, flirt, walk away. It was fun, easy, safe.

That was what I was doing when I told her she couldn't handle it: pointlessly flirting. It had nothing to do with actually wanting to be with her. At least that's what I told myself. She was beautiful lass, but no more beautiful than the dozens of other women that I had flirted with in the past in order to distract myself from Milah's memory for just a few moments. Just because she was pleasing to look at and fun to talk to didn't mean that I loved her.

A small voice at the back of my mind told me that I was deluding myself, and that I had fallen for her the moment I decided to turn my ship around. It told me that I must love her; why else would I be here in a land that I had already spent far too long in, a land I had sworn I would never return to? But I obstinately ignored that voice, trying to come up with some other reason for everything I had done. I gave them the bean because I owed Bae; I might not have been able to save him, but I could save his son. I saved David because it was good form; I couldn't let another person die in the way that Liam had, and I was simply honoring his memory, nothing more (I decided to forget about my response to David's question of why I had risked my life to save him). I came up with a million other excuses, and had just about managed to convince myself when she grabbed the lapels of my jacket and hauled my face towards her own.

When she pulled away, my lips sought hers out again, and that's when I knew without any shadow of a doubt that I had fallen in love with Emma Swan. I had kissed many women in my life, but it had been over three hundred years since I had experienced a kiss that made me feel like Emma's did. All of a sudden, the thought of being without her became almost unbearable, and I realized that Emma Swan was the only person that I wanted to kiss for the rest of my life. I would do anything just to have her kiss me again: give up my revenge, give up my ship, give up anything.

When she told me that it was a one-time thing and walked away, it felt like a punch to the gut. Really, I shouldn't have been surprised. Like I said, that was our pattern: talk, flirt, walk away. The flirting may have gotten little more intense this time, but there was no reason for her to think that anything had changed in our relationship. As I turned around, I let out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding. Even though Emma may not have realized it, I knew that everything about our relationship had changed just from that one small kiss. It was in that moment I knew that I wanted to love Emma Swan for the rest of my life, and that I wanted to be with her for the long haul. I could only hope that someday she would feel the same.


	3. Determination

Silence. That is all that can be heard at this moment. The wind isn't blowing. Cars aren't driving. No one is speaking. The only thing that can be seen are five people standing in the middle of the street, all staring the small, silver object lying on the pavement, reflecting the light of the moon. If someone were to walk out of the door of one of the surrounding shops, they would never be able to guess what had transpired only moments ago.

They would never be able to guess that only moments ago, another woman was standing in the street: a woman with eyes the color of emeralds and hair the color of gold. They would never be able to guess that only moments ago she was surrounded by Darkness itself. They would never be able to guess – that only moments ago – she had willingly sacrificed herself to the Darkness and had disappeared into the sky, leaving behind only a dagger, a dagger that now reads Emma Swan across the blade.

The five people in the street remain frozen for just a moment longer. Finally, the last few seconds sink in, and the illusion of peace breaks. A sob breaks from the lips of a dark-haired woman with eyes the color of emeralds. As her shoulders shake, she turns her head into the chest of a man with hair the color of gold, gripping his shirt as though afraid he will be dragged away from her as well. His arms wrap around her tightly as silent tears stream down his cheeks.

The other couple turns to each other, hands caressing each other's faces, as if trying to make sure the other is actually there. The man asks the woman if she is alright. She responds to his question with a whimpered "Yes," before burying her face in his neck, as if afraid that the Darkness that was threatening to consume her only moments ago will return and drag her far away: away from his embrace, away from her son, away from the light that she has fought so hard to get to.

Finally, the dark-haired man with sky-blue eyes who stands in the very middle of the street - the man who now has no one to hold him, no one to reassure him, no one to love him – moves. Unsteady on his feet, he stumbles toward the dagger, and falls to his knees just as he reaches it. He closes his eyes tightly, but that is not enough to stop the tears of anguish and despair from escaping them. As his eyes open, his right hand, which is now trembling almost uncontrollably, reaches out to wrap around the hilt of the dagger. He stares at the ground for a moment, as if contemplating whether to just give up: to lie down, fall asleep, and never get back up.

The moment passes quickly however, and a second later, a look of complete and utter determination flashes across his face. His eyes harden and his jaw sets. He wipes the tears away from his eyes with a steady hand before rising to his feet and walking away with a sense of purpose in his gait.

"Hook!" one of the men calls out as he begins to walk away. "Where are you going?"

"To find your daughter," he replies, his voice steady and full of conviction. It is a cruel joke that fate has played on him today, transforming what was once his greatest enemy into who is now his greatest love. The last time he swore to find the Dark One, his only goal had been revenge, and his revenge had cost him three hundred wasted years of endless torment. But find the Dark One he did, and he will find the Dark One again.

Because now his goal is not revenge. Rather it is love, the noblest cause of all, one that is a motivator infinitely more powerful than anger or hatred. He will use that love to find her. He will use the memory of the look on her face when she realized that he was alive, the memory of her giggle as they fell on top of her bed. As he searches for her, he will think of red leather jackets and hot cocoa with cinnamon and lazy days watching Netflix on her couch. Though it pains him, he will remember the whispered I love you that she muttered seconds before she was taken away from him. He will think of how much he wants the chance to say I love you back.

He may not have any idea how to get to her but he will find a way. Because a man unwilling to fight for what he wants deserves what he gets, and he does not want to become one of the men who did not fight for Emma Swan and then lost her as a result. He wants to be with her more than he has ever wanted anything in his life, and knowing that she feels the same way only makes him more determined.

Killian Jones will find Emma Swan. And then together they will start living out their Happily Ever After.


	4. The Lost Boy

Tumblr prompt: cs adopting one of the lost boys

~/~

After the Darkness was expelled from Emma Swan and destroyed once and for all, Storybrooke became relatively calm and quiet. The only disturbances which the Storybook Sheriff's Department — which now consisted of Emma, David, and Killian — had to deal with were almost laughably minor: speeding, brawls at the Rabbit Hole, shoplifting. During the first few months, Emma was always suspicious, waiting for the next villain to come rolling into town (after all, there was a plethora of "fictional" bad guys that she had yet to meet).

But the quiet held and she and her family settled into a new normal. She and Killian moved into a house together and decided to get married a few months later. For the first time in her life, Emma finally understood what it felt like to have a sense of permanence and family. Little did she know that that family was about to get just a little bit bigger.

-/-

It was about two months after she and Killian had married that they received the call that would change their lives forever. They were woken from a peaceful slumber at seven on a Saturday morning by the insistent buzz of Emma's phone upon the nightstand.

Emma stirred and tried to escape from her husband, whose arm was slung protectively around her middle. When he felt her moving, he buried his face in her hair and groaned.

"Ignore it, love. It'll go away."

And for a moment it did. Emma was just starting to drift back to sleep when it started buzzing again. This time she was more firm in her attempts to get out of the bed.

"Killian, it might have something to do with Henry," she said when he once again refused to let her get up. At that, his arm shot away from her, and he sat up in bed, eyes wide. Emma quickly reached out and grabbed the phone, looking at the Caller ID. "It's David," she said, looking over at Killian who met her look of confusion with one of his own. She swiped the answer button with her thumb before bringing the phone to her ear, praying that the reason he was calling had nothing to do with anyone being hurt (or cursed). "Hey, Dad," she said, trying to keep her worry from creeping into her voice. "What's up?"

"Hey, Emma. I know that it's my shift at the Sheriff's station today, but Neal's come down with a slight fever and…

"Is he okay?" Emma asked, slightly tense.

"Yeah, he's fine. It's not very high, but Mary Margaret is hesitant to deal with this on her own. I was wondering if you could cover my shift. Just for today?"

"Sure," Emma said breathing a sigh of relief. "You go home now and I'll be at the station in half an hour. "

"Um…I can't exactly leave the station until you get here."

"What do you mean you can't leave?"

"I'll explain when you get here. See you in a bit."

~/~

Half an hour later, Emma pulled her bug into the parking lot of the sheriff's station. Killian sat beside her in the driver's seat, looking out the window. She had tried to convince him to go back to bed, but he had insisted that it was bad form for a man to sleep in while his wife was called off to work, never mind the fact that their job often resulted in one of them working a night shift while the other was asleep. But she appreciated the sentiment (and the company) all the same.

Walking into the station, David met them in the hallway, telling them not to go any further until he had had a chance to explain.

"What's going on, Dad?" Emma asked. "You're kind of starting to scare me a little bit."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said shaking his head. "It's nothing bad, well not really bad anyway. I just…there's not a clear way to handle it and I thought it would be better to talk about it in person than over the phone."

"Okay," Emma said, gesturing for him to continue.

"Last night I got a call from Sneezy. He caught another kid shoplifting at his store."

"Wait, last night?" Killian asked. "Why didn't you call the lad's parents and be done with it then, mate?"

David bit his lip and looked down at the floor, refusing to meet their eyes. "He's one of the Lost Boys. He doesn't have any parents."

Emma felt her breath catch in her throat. But before she had a chance to ask any more questions, David continued.

"He ran away from the orphanage that the Fairies set up and was stealing food, a box of Pop Tarts I think it was. He said he was sorry, and that he was just really hungry. He seemed genuine so I took him to Granny's and bought him a hamburger (which he wolfed down) while I had a long talk with him about stealing. I was going to take him back to the orphanage, but he begged me not to so I brought him here."

"You put a kid in a jell cell?" Emma exclaimed, shocked.

"Wha…no! No, of course not!" David looked offended that she could have even suggested the idea. "We just talked for a little while longer and then he fell asleep on the couch in your office. I would have brought him home with me, but then Snow called to tell me that the baby was sick."

"Sorry, Dad," Emma said quickly. "You did good. But Mom and Neal need you now. Go ahead back to the loft. Killian and I have got this."

~/~

"Are you alright, Emma?" Killian asked her as soon as they heard the door to the station close. "Do you want to go home? Let me deal with this?"

Emma wasn't going to lie. An orphan being caught shoplifting (and stealing Pop-Tarts, no less) hit close to home for her. But she could deal with this. In fact she wanted to deal with this. Even though she had never met him, she wanted to make sure that that kid in there was treated better than she had ever been.

"No I'm fine," she said offering him a small smile and squeezing his hand gently. "Are you?" she asked, knowing that being left alone as a child haunted him just as much as it haunted her.

"I'll admit that this situation does bring some unpleasant memories to the forefront of my mind," he said. "But I'm eager to help and try to ensure that this young lad's experience is more pleasant than my own."

At that Emma smiled. That was exactly what she had been thinking. She was happy to know that this was just as important to Killian as it was to her. "Okay," she said. "Let's go."

~/~

They walked towards the station's office slowly, hand in hand. Through the glass they could see a boy sitting in the chair, reading a book. He was a small boy of around twelve years old with olive skin and short black hair. When they entered he slowly lifted his head up from the book and looked Emma straight in the eye. He gave her a dubious look before shifting his gaze onto Killian. As soon as he saw him, his dark brown eyes lit up in excitement and he jumped out of the chair.

"Captain!" he cried out, rushing over to Killian, throwing his arms around the pirate and hugging him tightly. Although he looked slightly in shock by the display of affection, Killian returned the embrace with equal fervor.

"Teddy!" he exclaimed when they broke apart. "It's great to see you lad."

"You too, Captain," Teddy said, before shyly looking over at Emma once again.

Killian followed Teddy's gaze, making eye contact with Emma and seeing the question in her eyes. "Ah, my apologies," he said. "Teddy, this is Emma, my wife. Emma, this is Teddy, one of the Lost Boys that I befriending during my time in Neverland."

"Wait, befriended?" Emma asked incredulously.

"Contrary to what you may have surmised given the — ah — enthusiasm I showed in Neverland whilst fighting the Lost Ones," he said scratching behind his ear, "I didn't actually hate all of them. Most of them were lured to the island under false pretenses and tried not to harm me or my crew if they could help it. Teddy here was a great help to me on more than one occasion. His only job was to help gather food, and as such, Pan didn't really pay him much attention. When that adolescent demon was in one of his more darker moods, Teddy here often found refuge on my ship."

The whole time Killian was talking, Teddy was looking at her with a slightly scared look in his eyes. She wondered if he thought she was going to throw him in a cell.

Wanting to calm him down, she extended her hand out to him. "It's nice to meet you, Teddy," she said as he hesitantly took her hand and shook it. "Do you think you're ready to go back home now?" she asked kindly, although she was fairly certain she already knew what his answer would be.

He shook his head. "Please don't send me back there," he pleaded. "I would rather be on my own than go back there."

"Why, lad? Do the Fairies not treat you well there?" Killian asked.

"No, no, they're really, really nice," Teddy said quickly. "It's just hard seeing the other boys get adopted," he said, "when no one wants to take you. I thought maybe if I left I could find a family on my own."

Emma's heart clenched at his words. Again, Teddy's situation struck a cord with her. She remembered seeing the other kids getting adopted, and remembered wondering why none of those parents had ever wanted her. In that moment, she knew exactly what she needed to do.

"Teddy, how would you like to come home with us?"

~/~

Teddy fit right into their little family. Not that Emma thought he would cause any problems. Her only concern had been Henry; she wondered if maybe he would feel like he was being replaced. She needn't have worried; Teddy and Henry took to each other right away.

Teddy seemed to be happy with them. He loved their weekly trips to Granny's and the occasional dinners at her parents' loft. David offered to include him in Henry's sword fighting lessons, and he looked forward to sailing trips on the Jolly Roger almost as much as Henry did. A smile on his face was becoming a more and more regular sight.

A few months after that fateful Saturday Emma and Killian were getting ready for bed when Emma finally got the courage to say the thing that had been bouncing around in her head since she had met Teddy. She was pretty sure she knew what Killian's response would be — after all they did understand each other — but she couldn't help being the slightest bit nervous.

She got into bed and lay facing Killian's side. As soon as he slid under the covers and turned the lamp off, she took a deep breath she forced the words out of her mouth. "I want to adopt Teddy," she said firmly."Like really adopt him," she continued. "Make it official. That way he knows we want him and we love him. That way he knows we're never going to send him back."

Killian was silent for a moment and then reached out to stroke her cheek. After a moment's pause, he smiled. "Nothing would make me happier, love," he said, pulling her closer and kissing her. When they broke apart he smiled at her once again. "I'm glad that there's going to be one fewer Lost Boy in the world," he said quietly before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep. She watched him for a few minutes before she too fell asleep with a look of contentment on her face.

~/~

Emma talked to Henry first. She wasn't worried about Henry being on board — she was pretty sure that he would be just as enthusiastic about the idea as she and Killian were — but she wanted to be sure that he was okay. And as she predicted, Henry was ecstatic about the fact that he was going to gain another brother.

"Roland is great, Mom," he said, "but Teddy's a much better Halo 4 partner."

~/~

They decided to ask Teddy to become a part of their family later that afternoon. Emma went upstairs to what had become Teddy's room and knocked on the door. Teddy looked up from his book (he may have enjoyed the sword-fighting, sailing, and video game lessons, but reading was still his true passion) and smiled at her. "Hey, Teddy," she said. "Killian and I just need to talk to you downstairs real quick. It shouldn't take long." He nodded, but as he got up she noticed that his smile had faded. "It's nothing bad," she said quickly, trying to reassure him. He perked up a little at that, but still didn't seem entirely convinced.

He followed her downstairs to where Henry and Killian were sitting at the kitchen table. Emma sat down next to her husband while Teddy sat down next to Henry. Emma noticed that his palms were sweaty and that he was wringing his hands. Not wanting to prolong his discomfort any longer, she nudged Killian, trying to get him to tell Teddy the good news.

Taking the hint, Killian began to speak. "Teddy, we were all thinking that…"

"You're taking me back aren't you?" he asked, his eyes suddenly filling with tears. At that, Emma jumped up from her chair and walked around the table to where he sat, pulling him into a tight hug. He threw his arms around her but continued to sob.

"No, lad, no," Killian said, his voice soft and filled with concern. "That's the furthest thing from what we were thinking. In fact, we wanted to ask you if you wanted to stay with us permanently. We wanted to ask if it would be okay with you if we formally adopted you."

At that, Teddy pulled away from her and looked at Killian with wide eyes. "You…you guys really want to adopt me?" he asked, slowly letting go of her.

Emma's heart melted at his broken tone. She remembered feeling the way he did all too well. When Ingrid had told her that she was going to adopt her, it had sounded too good to be true. And really, it had been. But that didn't mean that it couldn't become true for Teddy.

"Yes," Emma said, firmly. "We love you and we want you to be a part of this family forever. But it's still your choice."

"Yes!" he said, nodding his head enthusiastically. "Yes, I would!"

~/~

That night at dinner as she watched her boys — her beautiful, amazing boys — chatter and eat, she felt a wave of contentment wash over her. As a lost little girl she never thought she would be able to find a family. But she, her parents, Killian, Henry, and now Teddy had all managed to make a family together, a family that she could be a part of.

She might have started out as a Lost Girl. But just like Teddy, she wasn't lost anymore.


	5. My Best Friend

**Tumblr Prompt: I was hoping you'd write me a CS College/Childhood Best Friends to Lovers AU?**

~/~

They first met each other when she was eleven and he was twelve. It had been two years since she had been adopted (finally adopted!) by a young couple from Boston. When David and Mary Margaret Nolan had first brought her to their little house with a white picket fence around the front yard and a golden retriever named Tink inside, she was sure that it wouldn't last. No matter how many times they told her that they loved her and that she was here to stay, she couldn't quite bring herself to unpack her suitcase.

In an attempt to show her that they were indeed genuine in what they were saying, they told her that she could pick something to join (anything she wanted). They thought that letting her become a part of something — whether it be a basketball team or a dance troupe (or anything, really) — would show her that all they really wanted was to make her happy. So when she came up to them one night and told them she wanted to join a swim team, they told her it was a great idea and found a team for her to join the very next day. And after a week of practices she finally unpacked her suitcase.

And it turned out she was pretty good. Even though she had only been on the team for two years, she was already keeping up with kids who had been swimming since they were five or six. But far more importantly, for the first time in her life she made friends. On her very first day, a girl named Elsa, who was small and blonde like her, asked her if she wanted to swim in her lane, and from that day forward, they became the best of friends. Over time, they added more to their group: Ruby Lucas (who refused to wear swimsuits that were any other color than red), Belle French (who often had a book or two in her swim bag in addition to towels and goggles), and Regina Mills (who, though she had hated Emma at first, had become one of Emma's dearest friends).

Then one day a new kid named Killian Jones joined the team. He was a gangly boy with a nose too big for his face and a funny way of speaking. He was shy and didn't really talk to anyone unless they talked to him first. Emma liked him instantly. They hit it off right away, and in the months that followed, they became best friends. She became even closer with him than she was with Elsa.

Part of the reason she liked him so much was because he understood what it meant to be an orphan too. His mother had died when he was ten, and he had moved with his father and brother to the States shortly after. However, his father had abandoned him a few months after that, leaving him to fend for himself. Fortunately, his brother Liam, who was ten years his senior, had taken him in (even though he didn't have to), saving him from the foster care system that Emma had just recently escaped. Emma told him that she was sorry about his father, but he just shrugged and said that he had always liked Liam better anyway. That didn't stop Emma from offering to punch his father in the face if she ever had the misfortune to meet him. He smiled at that.

~/~

For the next three years, they were inseparable. He was there for her when she broke her arm climbing a fence on a dare, and he visited her at home every day until she was able to come back to swimming. She was there for him when he he was disqualified from one of his races at a championship meet, urging him to shake it off and focus on his next race.

Unfortunately for them, however, Liam was in the Navy, which meant that he could be asked to move at a moment's notice. It was the summer before Emma's freshman year of high school when Killian delivered the news to her: he and Liam would be moving clear across the country to California. At first, she was angry. She threw a book at his head (it wasn't one of her hardback Harry Potter books, so she really hadn't been that mad) and told him never to talk to her again.

She turned up on his porch later that evening with tears in her eyes and an apology on her lips. He pulled her into a hug and assured her that all was forgiven. They barely left each other's sight for the rest of the summer, trying to spend all the time they could together before he left.

When the day for him to leave finally came, he promised to call her every week so that she wouldn't forget him. She smacked him on the shoulder and called him an idiot, but admitted that she would like it very much if he would do that for her. They hugged one last time before he turned around to join Liam in the cab of the U-Haul truck they were driving to California. He waved to her as they pulled out of the drive, and Emma didn't stop staring in the direction the car had driven until long after it was out of sight.

~/~

Killian kept his promise, and called her every Saturday morning without fail. She always made sure to turn the ringer up as loud as it would go every Friday night to make sure that even if she was sleeping she would be awake to talk to him. And she answered no matter where she was: at home, at a sleepover with friends, it didn't matter. He was far too important for her to ever miss a call.

After the first few months, she wondered if they would run out of things to talk about, but it turns out they never did. He told her about swimming in California, how it was much more competitive there than back in Massachusetts. She told him about life in Boston, how the team was doing. They talked about the movies they had seen, and what new bands they were listening to. They talked and talked, usually only hanging up when her parents or his brother called them away.

And just like before, they were there for each other during the hard times. She consoled him during his breakup with a girl named Milah, and he listened while she cried after catching her (now ex) boyfriend Walsh making out with another girl. But it wasn't just sad times they shared. She squealed with unadulterated excitement when, during his senior year, he called to tell her that he had been accepted to Stanford. And he reacted in the exact same way when she called the following year to tell him that she had been accepted as well.

When she finally made the decision to attend Stanford, she was met with nothing but support from her parents. She knew that if it had been any other school, they (and even she herself) might have been worried that she was only going there to be with Killian. But they knew that he wasn't the only reason. That school had been a dream of hers long before Killian Jones had come into her life (although she could admit to herself that him being there was a really nice perk).

~/~

A few months after making her decision she found herself standing outside of his dorm room raising her hand to knock. Her parents had left only minutes ago after helping her unpack and crying about how they couldn't believe their little girl was all grown up (she had rolled her eyes, but had hugged them tightly before they left). She was beyond excited to see Killian and bounced nervously from foot to foot as she waited for him to open the door. A moment later the door was pulled open, and his blue eyes lit up in excitement as they met her green ones.

"Emma!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms around her excitedly and squeezing her hard.

"It's good to see you too," she said in reply to his bear-hug. When they finally broke apart, she was able to take his appearance in for the first time since he had moved. He looked different. Really different. The small, gangly boy she once knew was no more. Standing in front of her was a…well…a man. A really handsome man who had finally grown into his nose. She was so caught up in noticing the differences between this Killian and the one she remembered that she didn't realize he had been talking to her until he said her name.

"Emma?"

"Hm?" she asked, being broken out of her thoughts. She noticed him staring at her, and she blushed profusely. "Sorry," she said. "I'm just a little tired I guess."

He quirked an eyebrow at her but didn't press it. "I was just asking you if maybe you wanted to get dinner with me tonight?"

"Yeah, sure!"

~/~

Her first semester was going great. She was doing well in her classes, and she was making friends. Everything had changed, but one thing was the same: Killian Jones still remained her best friend. Their weekly calls had turned into weekly lunches and dinners. Every Saturday without fail, they managed to find time for each other. But she soon began to grow slightly dissatisfied with their relationship. She couldn't seem to figure out why until one day when she saw another girl flirting with him. A pang of jealousy overtook her, and that was when she realized: she had a crush on Killian Jones.

Now that her brain had finally caught up with her emotions, she was faced with a pressing dilemma: whether she should tell him or keep her feelings to herself. The movies and TV shows she had watched over the years seemed to suggest that falling for your best friend could only result in heartache for both people involved, especially if the feelings were one-sided. But she shook her head. She was smarter than that. She knew that even if he didn't want her like that, she would never have to worry about losing him as a friend.

~/~

When they returned to her dorm room (he always insisted on walking her back, claiming it was good form), she asked him to stay for a while. Her roommate was gone for the weekend, so she knew that no one would interrupt them. If he found her request strange, he didn't say anything, just nodded his assent before following her into the room.

She sat down on her bed, and gestured for him to sit next to her. After a moment of awkward silence she began to speak.

"Killian, you know you're my best friend right?"

"Yes, Emma, of course. You know I do."

"Well what if I told you I wanted to give being more than friends a shot?" she asked shakily looking at the floor and refusing to meet his eyes. "Because I like you," she continued, her voice gradually growing more steady. "And I want to try being with you."

When she finished speaking she continued to stare at the floor, until she felt Killian's fingers brush her chin and force her to look up. When she finally looked at his face, she noticed that his eyes were bright and he was smiling. "Oh, Emma," he said breathlessly. "I want to be with you too."

"Really?" she asked, hardly able to believe what she was hearing.

"Yes," he said nodding. "I've liked you for a long time now. But I've been too much of a bloody coward to ask you out." he said, and she blushed and chuckled.

Another pregnant pause passed between them, but unlike the silence before this was comfortable. However, a second later Killian spoke.

"May I kiss you now Emma?" he asked, his voice hopeful. She smiled and nodded her head, and a moment later their lips met in a gentle kiss.

She didn't know if it would work out. Maybe best friends was all that they were ever meant to be. But here in this moment, with his arms wrapped around her and his lips moving softly against her own, she knew that she had to at least give them a chance.

~/~

Turns out she needn't have worried. Twelve years after the day they first met, Killian Jones asked Emma Swan to marry him. And of course she said yes.


	6. In Another Life

**Tumblr Prompt: I've always wanted to know what would've happened if Killian met Emma instead of Neal. And could you please make it that Killian doesn't abandon her like Neal?**

~/~

The Darkness was indeed a funny thing indeed, Emma decided. She had thought that it would tap into her darkest desires, make her want to do bad things. Maybe set someone's house on fire or find a heart to crush. She hadn't expected it to prey on her regrets, on all the what ifs in her life.

 _Don't you wonder what things could have been like?_ it asked. _If Regina hadn't cast her curse? If you hadn't given Henry away?_ She shook her head and clapped her hands over her ears (even though she knew the voice was inside her head, that trying to make it go away was a fruitless endeavor).

 _Or maybe you wonder what would have happened if someone else had been in that car all those years ago?_ the Darkness prompted. That got her attention. What was it talking about? And in that split second when she was off guard, the Darkness pounced.

She tried to fight, really she did. But in the end the Darkness was just too strong. It surrounded her, engulfed her, made her close her eyes.

And when she opened her eyes, she didn't remember any of the past twelve years.

~/~

A seventeen-year-old Emma Swan walked down the street, looking over her shoulder nervously to see if anyone was following her. It seemed like the alleyway was deserted for now. _Good._

A few seconds later she came upon her target: a yellow Volkswagen Beetle. It had been here for the past few days, just sitting. She assumed that since it was older, the owner didn't really have much use for it anymore (that was what she told herself to justify stealing it).

Working quickly, she popped the door open and started the engine using a screwdriver. A moment later she was on the road. It looked like she was going to get away clean.

"You know, lass, if you wanted the keys, all you had to do was ask," a voice said from the back seat.

Emma yelled out in shock before looking in the rearview mirror to meet the blue eyes of the stranger in the back seat. His dark hair was sticking up every which way and his clothes (which consisted of black sweatpants and a hoodie) looked rumpled. He had obviously been sleeping in this car, which was probably why it had been in the same spot for so long without moving. Sighing defeatedly, she pulled the car into a parking lot and put it in park before turning around to face him.

"You gonna call the cops?" she asked defensively, trying to steady her voice so as not to betray the fear that she was feeling.

He considered her for a moment. "No," he said. "You don't seem like the type who would steal a car for malicious purposes." He continued to study her and Emma shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "If I had to venture a guess, I'd say that you're in a bad situation and you're only stealing this car to get away from it."

Emma's jaw fell open in surprise. "How do you know that?" she asked.

"You're something of an open book, love." She continued to look at him distrustfully until he spoke again. "Look, I'm not trying to be difficult," he said. "Let me buy you lunch and we can call this all a big misunderstanding."

She nodded and he smiled and tossed her the keys. "Where to?" she asked.

~/~

His name was Killian Jones, and judging by his accent (and his old-fashioned way of speaking) he wasn't from around here. When she had asked him where he was from ("London maybe?") he had simply told her that she wouldn't believe him, and (since he hadn't set her lie detector off at any point during their conversation) she hadn't pushed him. Let him have his secrets she thought. Maybe he was coming from a situation that was just as bad as hers and all he wanted was to forget, to have a fresh start.

They talked for a while longer about trivial things. And as they talked she found herself liking him more and more. But it was time to go. The more distance she put between herself and the group home the better. When she got up to leave, he grabbed her gently by the hand, asking her to wait a moment.

"I know that we only just met each other, and that I'll probably sound like a mad-man for asking," he said tentatively. "But I was wondering if maybe you wanted to stick together. I mean, I understand if you don't want to, but I do have the car, and you seem to know a lot more about this rea…er…city than I do, and so I just thought maybe we could help each other. If you want?"

Emma bit her lip. Her brain was screaming at her to run. How did she know she could trust this guy? She had just met him. This whole situation looked like it would just turn into another Lily debacle. And yet…

"Sure," she said. "I guess we can stick together. For now."

~/~

For the first few months, Emma kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Things with Killian were good. Sure, they were living in a car, but at least they had somewhere to sleep every night. Each of them found odd jobs to work throughout the day, which most of the time were enough to keep their bellies full. Of course, there occasionally wasn't enough food for both of them. But Killian always refused to let her be the one to go hungry.

"It would be bad form, Swan" he had said one night, when she tried to make him eat the food he had offered her, "to let a lass as beautiful as you go hungry." When she tried to protest he had grabbed her hand and made her look him in the eye. "I'll be alright, Emma" he said. "It's nothing I haven't dealt with before."

She wanted to ask him what he meant, why he'd had to deal with hunger before. But she didn't press it. If there was one thing that she had learned about Killian Jones, it was that he did not want to discuss his past. At all.

~/~

It was a cold October morning when she awoke to someone singing "Happy Birthday" to her. She opened her eyes to find Killian looking at her from the passenger's seat in the bug, holding a single cupcake in his hands.

"How did you know?" she asked quietly, when he was done singing, taking the cupcake from his hands and setting it on the seat next to her. It would have to stay there while they had their inevitable argument over whether or not they would share it.

"I have my ways, love," he said winking. "Now I didn't manage to procure a candle, but you can still make a wish all the same."

She stared at the cupcake, overwhelmed with emotion. But instead of making a wish, she decided to do something else instead. Looking back at Killian, she slowly leaned forward and placed her hand on his cheek. He looked at her questioningly before she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.

~/~

After her birthday, they wandered around aimlessly for a few more months, trying to find a place to settle permanently together. They eventually settled on a small town near the coast. She managed to find work as a waitress in a diner, while he got work on the docks. Eventually, they saved up enough to start renting a small apartment. It wasn't much, but it was theirs.

She was blissfully, incandescently happy until the day he came home with a sad look on his face, telling her that they needed to talk. When they sat down on the couch, she was sure she knew what was going to happen: he was going to leave her. He was going to tell her that she was too broken to love, that he was done, that he would be packing his clothes and leaving in the morning.

What she hadn't expected was for him to tell her that he was from a different realm, a realm of magic, and that he had fallen through a portal and into this world after his brother died. She hadn't expected him to tell her that he had run into someone else from that land, someone who knew about her, knew about her true destiny. She hadn't expected him to tell her that she was the lost daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, and that she was destined to break the Curse that had torn them away from her.

And she certainly hadn't expected him to tell her that he had refused to leave her. The stranger — August — had told Killian that he was a distraction, that he would get in the way of her fulfilling her destiny. Killian said that he had told August, in no uncertain terms, that he would die before he abandoned her. He had promised to bring her to her parents on her twenty-eighth birthday, and although August hadn't seemed happy about it, he had nodded and left.

When he finished, she couldn't take it anymore. She stood up, and without a word, opened the door and walked out. She wandered the streets aimlessly for hours, trying to sort through her thoughts. She didn't know what to do. She loved him, but everything he had said was crazy.

That pulled her up short. She had just admitted to herself that she loved him. And that was when she realized she had to go back. Crazy or not, she loved him they would work it out.

She ran back to the apartment and pushed the door open with all her might. Killian sprang up from where he had been sitting on the couch (had he stayed there the whole time she had been gone?) and walked over to her, enveloping her in a tight hug. "I love you," she said when they finally broke apart, "and I'm sorry I left. It might take me some time to believe you. But I'm willing to try."

"Oh, Swan," he said, brushing her hair out of her face. "I love you too. And I have all the time in the world. Even if you never do believe, I'm in this for the long haul."

~/~

A lot changed over the next ten years, but in some of the best ways possible. When she was twenty-two, Killian asked her to marry him and of course she said yes. Their wedding was a quiet affair at the courthouse, with her dressed in a simple white sundress and him in a second-hand suit. There were no guests there, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was the look of pure joy on the other's face when the officiant proclaimed them man and wife. Five years later, she gave birth to a son who was the spitting image of her husband. They named him Liam, after Killian's brother.

It was a few days before her twenty-eighth birthday when they packed up the bug and began their journey to Storybrooke. She had still been a little skeptical, and had questioned whether it was a good idea for them to go (although her reluctance had had more to do with the fact that little Liam was only a few months old, and not the fact that the whole idea of a Curse still seemed crazy). But Killian had pressed her.

"If it turns out to be nothing, we'll come right back," he said. "And I'll drop it."

She had wanted to argue, to tell him that it was pointless. But she could see in his eyes how important this was to him. So she gave in. Maybe a road trip would be fun.

Storybrooke didn't show up on any maps, so when they finally got to Maine they followed the instructions that August had given Killian all those years ago. And when they finally happened upon a sign that said _Welcome to Storybrooke_ her jaw dropped in shock. She turned her head to look at her husband, who had stopped the car and was looking at her, gaging her reaction.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you," she said. "All these years, I thought this place didn't exist. But being here, seeing this town that shouldn't even be here, well. It makes me believe that everything else might just be possible too."

"It's alright, love," he said softly. "Now, are you ready to find your parents?" She nodded.

And then she woke up.

~/~

It was a dream. It had all been a dream. A dream constructed by the Darkness to get her to break. And for a moment, she was afraid it might succeed.

 _Give in_ , it whispered to her. _Give in and you can have this life. Rumpelstiltskin was weak. Even with this power he was not strong enough to change fate. But you can be. All you have to do is give in._

For a moment, Emma was tempted. That life was good, so good. Even better than New York. But just like New York, she knew it wasn't real. Besides, in that life she didn't have Henry. For all the pain that Neal had caused her, there was one amazing thing that had come out of their relationship: her son. Her wonderful, amazing son.

And even if she somehow could have her son in that life, she couldn't do that to him or to Killian: take their real memories away and force them to live a lie. She could have everything in that dream that was important — family, love — but she would get it the right way, the hero's way. And to do that, she had to beat this Darkness.

 _No!_ she said, when it once again entreated her to give in. _I won't do it! I can be happy without YOU!_ she screamed as a pulse of Light Magic rippled through her body.

At that the Darkness receded. She knew that it wasn't gone completely, that it would rear its ugly head again, but she had won for now. And just like every other crisis she had faced since coming to Storybrooke, she wouldn't have to defeat it alone. She had faith that her family — her parents, her son, her pirate — would find her and that they would defeat the darkness. _Together._


	7. Family Fights

**Tumblr Prompt:** **Emma and Henry fight over who should spend time with Killian!?**

~/~

Henry Daniel Mills was angry. Well, perhaps _angry_ wasn't the correct word. More like perturbed. Yes, even though it was probably nerdy, he was going to go with the word perturbed (he was the Author now, after all, he should be able to use big fancy words). And who was the person who was responsible for his mood? None other than his blonde-haired mother, Emma Swan.

Usually he and Emma got along really well. She looked out for him, but wasn't too strict; she was his mom at the same time that she was his friend. He wasn't annoyed with her because she was refusing to let him do something, nor was he annoyed with her because she was trying to get him to do something that he _didn't_ want to do. No, the reason he was frustrated with her had nothing to do with things like X-Box privileges or bedtimes. He was _perturbed_ with her because she was hogging a certain one-handed pirate, and keeping said pirate all to herself.

He understood that his mom wanted to spend time alone with her boyfriend. He really did (although he preferred not to think about it). And it wasn't like they didn't spend time all together as a family. Trips to Granny's as well as voyages on the _Jolly Roger_ were common activities for them. But was it too much to ask for some "guy time" with the man who was practically his stepfather? Henry certainly didn't think so.

So when Emma came into his room to tell him that she and Killian had a date planned for that afternoon, Henry couldn't let it go any longer. He told his mom very calmly (although also very bitterly) that he would appreciate it if she would cancel the date so that _he_ could spend some time with Killian. He told her that she _always_ got to spend time with the pirate (especially while he was at Regina's), while he rarely ever did.

"What do you mean you never get to spend time with him?" Emma asked exasperatedly once he had finished. "We just went sailing yesterday!"

"I meant _alone_ with him. We need to have some 'guy time,' Mom!" he said exasperatedly.

Pretty soon, their little disagreement escalated into a full-on argument. There was some yelling, and a pillow might have even been thrown at one point. Henry realized that they were handling the situation in a way that was far below even his maturity level. He supposed that the fact that they were both inherently stubborn in nature probably had something to do with it. However, both of them were snapped out of their fight when they heard someone clearing their throat loudly.

Killian stood leaning up against the doorframe, one eyebrow raised and a disapproving yet amused expression upon his face. He gave them a look that clearly said _work this out_ before turning around and sauntering down the hallway.

As soon as he was gone, Emma looked at him guiltily. "Okay," she said after a moment's pause. "I'll admit that I maybe do get to spend a _little_ more time with him than you. If it's okay with him, you guys can spend the afternoon together before Regina comes to get you. _By yourselves_."

Henry grinned and started for the door. Just before he reached it he turned around and ran back across the room to envelop Emma in one of his signature bear hugs. "Thanks, Mom," he whispered as she hugged him back tightly.

"You're welcome, kid," she said softly as she broke the hug and ruffled his hair. "Now go," she said, nudging him towards the door. "You don't want to waste any of your 'guy time' here with me."

~/~

Later that night, as they watched Netflix on the couch (Henry had been dropped off at Regina's about an hour earlier), Emma couldn't help but notice the large grin plastered across her pirate's face, which remained there for the entirety of the movie. When it finally ended, she turned to face him, asking him what it was that had him in such a good mood.

"While I wish that it hadn't resulted in an argument," he said as she blushed, "it's nice to know that I'm wanted. For a very long time, it felt like no one wanted me, that they only tolerated me out of necessity," he continued, his smile disappearing. Emma's own grin turned into a frown as he spoke. For a moment, he looked more vulnerable than she had ever seen him before. For just a brief second, he truly looked like the little lost boy that hid under the tough pirate exterior.

They sat there in silence before he met her eyes once again, and a small smile returned to his face. "But today showed me that I am loved, and that I don't have to worry about being alone again. And I couldn't be more grateful to you and Henry for that."

Emma blinked back tears, suddenly overcome with emotion. Not knowing how to respond in words, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his in a gentle kiss. They had both endured many years alone, but now they had each other (and Henry, of course). Even though they might get into arguments from time to time, they had each found something that made every single fight (no matter how petty or ridiculous it was) worth it: a family.


	8. Ghosts From the Past

**Tumblr Prompt: Neal and/or Milah come back?**

~/~

 _The effects of the spell will only be temporary_ Emma reminded herself as everyone stood around the white vortex that was spinning violently in the middle of Main Street, waiting anxiously to see what would emerge from it. The latest villain to visit their fair town had been one who was hellbent on resurrecting two of the most powerful sorcerers of all time from the dead. Fortunately, they had been able to stop and apprehend the villain before he was able to do so, but they hadn't been in time to counteract the spell completely. Much like Pan's Curse, they were not able to stop it, only change what its effects would be. Regina had explained that she and Emma would have to channel their light magic into the vortex, which would lead to it releasing two deceased individuals who were _not_ evil. When Emma had asked if she had any idea who would come through, Regina had just shaken her head. However, she had been quick to assure Emma that the two "visitors" would not remain in Storybooke permanently. "All we have to do is make sure that we get them back to this _exac_ t spot twenty-four hours from now," Regina had said.

As it had so many times before, teamwork between the Savior and the former Evil Queen had proved to be the solution to their problem. As soon as the two women had activated their magic, the vortex (which had previously been a dark black color) had changed to a bright white. Now all that was left to do was stand around and wait to see who would come through. Once Regina indicated that their work was done, Emma dropped her arms exhaustedly, turning around to see her parents, son, and pirate looking at her with pride in their eyes. She smiled at them feebly before turning back to the vortex and biting her lip in anticipation. She hoped that they wouldn't have too much trouble explaining the whole ordeal to whoever came through. All she felt like doing now was going back home and sleeping for a week.

She was broken out of her thoughts as the vortex gradually began to lose its speed. Slowly, the smoke began to dissipate, leaving two dark figures standing in the street. At first, Emma was unable to make out their features, but as the smoke became thinner, she realized who they were. She had never known the dark-haired woman in life, but she had come to know her likeness from a small portrait that Killian had shown her when she had asked him to tell her more about the woman whose name was tattooed upon his arm. She recognized Milah even before her name fell from Killian's lips in a shocked whisper.

The person standing next to Milah, well…Emma had known him better than she had known herself once upon a time. This was the second time he had come back from the dead, and yet it was no less shocking that it had been the first time. Neal Cassidy met her eyes and smiled at her, and in that moment, everything became too much.

So Emma Swan did what she always did whenever a situation became too much. She ran.

~/~

Emma started the engine and threw the bug into drive faster than she ever had before. _What is my life?_ she thought frustratedly as she flew through the streets, giving no thought to where she was going. She knew that she had probably handled the situation badly, but it wasn't like there was a set precedent for what to do when your boyfriend's ex-lover and the father of your child unexpectedly came back from the dead.

Emma was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't realize that she had driven to the docks until she arrived. She considered getting out of the car and going to look at the water as she had done on so many other occasions. Doing so had always been able to calm her soul. But she didn't want Killian to find her there, as she knew he would. He was probably looking for her right now, and this was the first place that he would come.

She just couldn't face him right now. It would be too hard. What was she supposed to say to him? More importantly, what would he have to say to her? The rational part of her brain knew that he would never leave her. But a traitorous little voice in the back of her mind asked her what she would do if he decided that he wanted Milah more than he wanted her. What if he wanted to try and make her resurrection permanent?

Making up her mind, she turned the car around and drove off in the opposite direction. Fifteen minutes later she found herself at the edge of the woods. She knew that if anyone drove by, they would be able to see her car easily, but it was a small town and it wasn't like she had many other options. Making up her mind, she got out of the car and began to wander aimlessly through the trees. She knew that she would have to go back and deal with the situation eventually, but she needed some time to clear her head first. Hopefully, she would be able to do that undisturbed.

Another fifteen minutes passed before she heard the crackling of leaves behind her. For a moment she thought about running, but managed to talk herself out of it. It was time to face this problem head on. She turned around, expecting to see her pirate. But instead of meeting blue eyes, she found herself looking into brown.

"Hey, Emma," Neal said. "Can we talk?"

~/~

Sitting in the bug with Neal brought back a lot of old memories, not all of which were bad. She could remember a lot of good times that they had had together in her car. The day that they had robbed that gas station — the day that he had stolen the swan pendant for her — jumped to the forefront of her mind. But that one happy memory wasn't enough to overshadow another much darker memory: being let out of jail all alone, with nothing but this car to her name. Neal Cassidy evoked all kinds of conflicting feelings in her. Not for the first time in her life she wished (somewhat guiltily) that he had remained dead.

"Emma," he began. "I know that this is a lot to handle but…"

"Neal, just don't," she said cutting him off. "There's no point. By this time tomorrow—"

"I'll be gone. I know," he said, his voice carrying a resigned tone.

"They told you," she said sadly.

"No. I already knew."

That took her by surprise. "How?" she exclaimed. "You were dead!"

"Doesn't mean I haven't been watching."

That took her aback. "What do you mean you've been _watching_?"

"I've been checking up on you two. I wanted to make sure that Henry was okay, that you were okay. I was afraid of what would happen with that villain today. I saw the whole thing."

"Well it turned out okay," she said.

"Yeah," he said. "You'd think by now I'd have learned that you always win the day."

They sat in silence for a moment before Neal spoke again.

"Look," he said. "All I wanted to say before I…leave again is that I'm sorry. I made a lot of mistakes when it came to you. And I know it's probably not worth much now, but I wanted to give you an apology."

"Thanks," she said quietly. The truth was she had made peace with what Neal had done to her a while ago. But hearing him say it, hearing him finally say that he had been wrong, she couldn't deny that it was nice.

"We should probably get back," she said quietly after another stretch of silence.

"Yeah," Neal agreed. "And you should probably call Killian and let him know you're okay."

"No," Emma said as she started the car. "I'm sure he's busy with her…your…," she stuttered, struggling to find the right words. "Milah," she said finally. "I'm sure he's missed her."

"I'm sure he has. But he started looking for you as soon as you ran off."

"Really?" she asked.

"Yeah. He asked Henry to take my mom to your parents' loft and then told us we needed to split up and look for you. I went to the woods, your parents and Regina went to Granny's, and he ran straight for the docks."

Emma sat there shocked. She had thought that he would have at least taken a moment to make sure Milah understood what was going on before going to look for her. As if sensing her thoughts, Neal began speaking again.

"Emma, that man loves you more than anything. You didn't really think that this whole situation would change anything did you?"

She didn't answer. Rather, she handed him her phone and asked him to tell her parents and Killian where to meet them.

~/~

They arrived back at the loft about five minutes before her parents and Regina pulled up to the curb. As soon as her father exited the pickup, she quickly opened the door of the bug and walked towards him, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him close. He gently stroked her hair, not saying anything, knowing that all she needed in this moment was this silent reassurance that everything was going to be okay.

"Swan!" she heard Killian yell, causing her and David to break apart. She could see the pirate running down the street, panting, his hair windswept and flying in all directions. As soon as he got close enough, he threw his arms around her and pulled her into a tight embrace, which she returned.

"I was so worried about you, love," he said when they finally broke apart.

"I'm sorry," she replied guiltily before looking around to find that they were alone. She assumed that everyone else had already headed upstairs, probably wanting to give them some privacy.

"Emma," Killian said, bringing her attention back to him. "I know that this whole ordeal is rather strange. But I want you to know that none of this changes how I feel about you. I'm still in this for the long haul, if you'll have me."

Emma smiled up at him, feeling slightly silly for her earlier doubts. "Of course I'll still have you," she said.

He grinned at that. "I'm glad to hear it, love. Now what's say you and I head upstairs? There's someone up there who I would really like you to meet."

~/~

When they entered the loft, David and Snow were talking to Neal while they stood over her bother's crib, no doubt introducing him to his namesake. Regina sat awkwardly in one of the chairs, for once in her life looking like she didn't quite know what to do with herself. And sitting at the table, talking animatedly with each other were her son and the woman who was (Emma realized with a jolt) his grandmother.

"Milah," Killian said as they approached the table. "I'd like to introduce you to…"

"Emma," Milah finished smiling warmly at her and standing up quickly so that she could grasp Emma's hand in her own. "It's so good to finally meet you in person."

The other woman's enthusiasm took her by surprise, but Emma couldn't help herself from smiling back. Somehow, Milah had managed to keep this encounter from becoming awkward, for which Emma was extremely grateful. "It's nice to meet you too," she said sincerely.

~/~

The rest of the afternoon flowed surprisingly easy. If anyone had stumbled onto the scene from the outside, they might have assumed that they were just a normal group of friends spending a Saturday afternoon together. Sure, there were awkward moments, but they were few and far between.

Out of everyone, Henry seemed to be the happiest about the situation. He refused let Neal or Milah out of his sight, insisting that they tell him about all of the adventures that they had experienced during their lives. Watching them, Emma couldn't help but feel a flutter of happiness. Henry had never met his grandmother, and he had only been able to know Neal for a short time. She was glad that he got to have this day with them, even if it was just _one_ day.

When the nightfall finally came, Neal asked if Henry could spend the night with him at Granny's, a request to which Emma readily agreed. Henry bounded excitedly down the stairs, but Regina stopped Neal before he could follow, a look of apprehension on her face.

"Don't worry," he said. "I'll make sure I bring him back to you before I…you know. I don't want him to have to see that any more than you do." Regina initially looked shocked that he had been able to guess what she was going to say, but a moment later collected herself and nodded her assent.

Emma, Killian, and Milah were the last to leave the loft. The car ride back to the house that she shared with Killian was quiet, yet somehow not unpleasant. However, when they finally entered the house, Emma could tell that Killian and Milah were both unsure about what they should do next.

"Milah, why don't you sit here?" she said, gesturing towards the couch as they entered the living room. "I just need to talk to Killian about something, and then he'll be right back," she continued, before grabbing her pirate's hand and leading him towards the hallway.

She quit walking once they were out of earshot and turned to face her boyfriend. "I want you to know that it's okay if you want to take some time to talk with her alone," she said earnestly.

"Emma, love, I don't have…"

"I know you don't have to," she said, cutting him off. "But you want to. And I'm trying to tell you that it's okay. I'm sure that you have a lot to tell her."

"Are you sure, love?" he asked again, still looking conflicted.

"Yes," I'm sure, she replied. "I know that you love me Killian. I know that you're never going to leave me. But you have less than twelve hours before she has to leave you. And I'm sure that there's still a lot that you want to tell her."

"Aye, I suppose there is." he said. "But you're sure you'll be alright, Swan?"

She smiled kindly at him. She was so thankful to have him, someone who always tried to put her needs before his own. But in this instance she needed to put him first. "Go on pirate," she said giving him a small push.

~/~

After Emma assured him that everything was alright, Killian headed back out to the living room. When he entered, he was greeted by the sight of Milah sitting at the edge of the couch with her hands folded in her lap. He went to sit directly beside her and reached for her hand. She reached back, and they slowly entwined their fingers together as they had done so many times before. They sat in an easy silence for a while before Milah finally began to speak.

"I'm so glad that you found her," she began. "It's good to see you smiling again."

"Aye," he replied, not quite sure if he should try telling her about all the things that had been giving him reason to smile. Milah had taken this whole situation in stride, and had seemed genuinely happy to meet Emma and the rest of her family. But he couldn't help but wonder if talking about his life (his wonderful, happy life) would make her upset.

As if sensing his uneasiness, Milah squeezed his hand reassuringly. "I'm not jealous, if that's what you're worried about, my love," she said softly. "I mean it when I say that it's good to see you so happy. It was so hard for me to see you so deep in anger and sadness for all those years, Killian. I never would have asked that of you."

"I didn't know how to live without you until Emma came along. She changed everything," he admitted. "But I want you to know that I still love you and that I still…I still miss you very much sometimes."

Milah smiled softly at him. "I will always love you, Killian," she said. "As I know you will always love me. But you've moved on. So now it's time to let me go."

And that was what did him in. He felt the burn of tears in his eyes, but he didn't try to stop them. Rather, he let them flow freely as Milah pulled him into a hug. As he cried, he finally and fully let go of all of the pain and anguish of the past two centuries.

When he was finally finished, he wiped his eyes and Milah released him with a tender squeeze. Rather than focusing on the negative for the rest of their time together, he resolved to focus on the positive instead. He spent the next few hours telling her about everything that had happened since he had once again let love into his life. He told her about Dave, about how it was good to have a brother again. He told her about Henry, about how he too would make a fine captain one day. But mostly he told her about Emma, about how bloody brilliant the blonde Savior was.

It was at about four in the morning Killian finally suggested that they both retire for the night (or what was left of it). He lead her to the house's guest bedroom before heading towards the door to go sleep on the couch. He was just about to leave the room when Milah called out his name. He turned around and raised an eyebrow at her inquisitively.

"I'm not sure if I should be telling you this," she began tentatively. "He probably wants to tell you himself, that stubborn man. But I think you deserve to know."

He looked at her quizzically, still very much confused. She looked back at him, the hesitation she was feeling evident in her eyes. "Please, Milah," he implored, "tell me."

She hesitated a moment more before taking a deep breath and continuing. "I know that you lost your way for a while," she said. "And I know that you wonder if he hates you for it. But you should know that Liam loved you the whole time. And he's so very, very proud of the hero you've become."

He felt another lump forming in his throat at her words, but pushed it back down. He had cried enough for one night. And besides, if Liam ever found out (and he probably would find out) that he had shed tears over him almost three centuries after his death, he was sure that would never hear the end of it once he himself finally did die.

"Thank you for telling me," he said to Milah, smiling softly at her to let her know that he was indeed glad (and not angry as she had clearly feared he would be) that she had told him. She smiled back at him, the uneasiness slowly leaving her eyes.

"Get some rest, love," he said as he walked back towards the hallway. "I'll see you in the morning."

~/~

The next morning, Neal met Killian, Emma, and Milah in the middle of the street where they had been resurrected the day before. All that remained now was to say goodbye.

Emma hugged Neal first while Killian and Milah said their farewells. "Thank you for taking such good care of Henry," he said when they broke apart. "Thank you for making sure that he doesn't grow up the way we did."

"You're welcome," she said giving him a small smile.

Next was Milah. Emma had been planning on giving her a polite handshake, or perhaps an awkward side-hug, but the other woman pulled her into a tight embrace, which (to her surprise) Emma returned eagerly.

"Thank you for taking care of him," she said. "He loves you so, so much. Please don't forget that," she said before releasing her. Emma felt her eyes fill with tears, and silently nodded. Milah smiled at her softly and squeezed her shoulder before walking over to Neal and taking his hand. Slowly, they walked to the spot in the road where they had appeared the previous day.

A moment later the wind picked up, and large white clouds began to gather in the sky. Soon after, a spinning vortex began to descend from the clouds, and gradually began to work its way toward Milah and Neal. It was not long before it had enveloped them entirely, completely hiding them from Emma's view. Finally, a large bolt of lightning streaked through the sky to strike directly where they were standing, and with a flash of light and the sound of thunder, everything was gone.

For the next few minutes, Emma and Killian just stood there, staring at the spot where their former loves had once stood. Killian eventually broke out of his daze to reach his hand out to Emma. She took it in her own and squeezed it gently before turning to look him the eyes. Slowly they moved forward to envelop each other in a hug.

"I didn't expect it to be so hard," she whispered into his chest as a tear streamed down her cheek. "I'm going to miss them so much. _Both_ of them."

"Aye, love, me too," he said quietly as he rubbed her back. "But hey," he said, pulling away from her and using his fingers to tilt her chin up, silently asking her to look at him. When she met his eyes he smiled at her. "We have each other now. And I would never give you up for anything. Or _anyone_ ," he said sincerely.

With that, he pulled her towards him and brushed his lips against hers. Emma wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, feeling the tension and stress of the past twenty-four hours melt away. He was right. A part of her would always love Neal, just as a part of Killian would always love Milah. But though they might miss their past loves, there was no need to be sad about their deaths anymore. There was no need to live in the past.

They had each other. Now they would be able to live for the future. _Their_ future.


	9. Past Meets Future

**Tumblr Prompt: "Can you do one where Emma and Killian's daughter/son come through a portal from the future?" and "so it always kind of bugs me when the fandom is all "baby liam (cs son) will be their little pirate" but then their daughter will be "daddy's little princess" and it just sort of irks me because it feels like the fandom is shoving gender roles on this (fictional) kids so i was wondering if you'd write something with cs daughter declaring herself the pirate queen"**

~/~

Leia didn't _mean_ to open the time portal. Well, that wasn't strictly true. She had just wanted to see if she could do it. Ever since she had been born, there had been speculation about the extent of her powers. Being the product of True Love born from another product of True Love was bound to make her more powerful. Of course, her parents had always been hesitant to let her experiment. After all, magic (even light magic) could come with a price. But she couldn't help but sometimes wonder what she was capable of. Specifically, she had always wondered whether she had the ability to travel through time. Her curiosity led to her coming up with (what at the time seemed like) a brilliant plan: she would try to create a time portal, but would not go through it.

Although she was eager to try, she found that she was having a really difficult time finding an opportunity to do so. When you were related to half the town (and when there was a villain attacking said town every other week), it made it kind of difficult to find time alone. But eventually the perfect moment presented itself. She had planned to go to the movies with Henry one afternoon, but he had canceled at the last minute (she had a sneaking suspicion that he had finally worked up the courage to ask Grace out). So instead of heading home after getting off the phone with her brother, she had gone straight to the forest.

When she got to the woods, she found a small clearing where she could practice. After checking that no one else was around, she closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths, and concentrated on creating a portal. A moment later she opened her eyes to find a giant gold vortex swirling right before her. She smiled in triumph. Now she knew that yes, she could indeed create a portal to the past. She was just about to close it when she felt herself being pulled forward. Her feet flew up in the air and she fell straight on her back, hitting her head on a rock. She was unconscious as she fell into the portal.

~/~

When she came to she was surrounded completely by darkness. At first she thought that she was waking up in the middle of the night in her own bed. But then she felt the hardness of the ground beneath her and the true reason that she was alone in the dark came rushing back to her. She began to panic, wondering where she was. Maybe since she hadn't been able to think of a particular time when she fell in the portal, she had ended up…nowhere.

She was just about to start crying when she heard a shuffling to her right. Reaching her arm up to feel around, she felt the cold metal of a doorknob and realized that she was in a closet. Slowly, she turned the doorknob and peeked outside.

Looking through the small crack in the door, she was able to see that she was in a living room of some sort. Upon further inspection, she realized that it was the living room of her house. But everything looked slightly off. Some pieces of furniture were missing, and stuffed animals were scattered across the floor. The pictures on the side tables were also different than she remembered them being that morning. There was not a single one in which she looked to be older than two or three. Clearly, she had fallen into the past.

Pushing the faint jolt of pride she felt at having been able to accomplish her goal, Leia reminded that she needed to get back home as soon as possible. Her mother had almost erased herself from existence when she had traveled to the past, and Leia didn't want anything like that to happen. As quietly she could, she exited the closet and started to walk through the house, hoping that she would be able to escape without anyone noticing.

Unfortunately, when she got to the kitchen, she was not the only one there. A little girl with dark hair was tiptoeing quietly across the kitchen, as if she too was trying to avoid being seen. She had just enough time to cast a glamour spell over herself before the girl turned her head to check if she had been seen. Bright blue eyes stared straight at the spot where Leia had been standing, and she had to fight back a gasp when she realized that it was her younger self who she had almost run into.

Little Leia continued to stare at the spot where her older self was standing for a few more moments before turning around and continuing to creep across the kitchen. Leia knew that she needed to leave, but she couldn't help but be curious about what her younger self was doing. She had the glamour spell, she reasoned; she could stay for a few more minutes.

She watched fascinated as Little Leia, using all her strength, began to push one of the chairs surrounding the kitchen table. With great effort, she pushed it clear across the kitchen until it made contact with the counter. Little Leia wiped her forehead, took a deep breath, and climbed atop it, giving her perfect access to the basket of candy that was sitting on the counter.

"What's my Little Princess doing in here?" someone said just as Little Leia's little hands were about to close around a large bar of chocolate, causing her to jump. Both Leias turned their heads to see that their father was standing in the doorway with his arms crossed, obviously trying to look at Little Leia disapprovingly (but failing miserably). The look on his face was clearly one of amusement rather than anger.

The surprise on Little Leia's face didn't stay there for long. Her face turned indignant before she said (in a very loud voice), "I'm not a princess, Daddy. I'm a queen. A _pirate_ queen. And I'm stealing the treasure from this ship," she said, gesturing towards the basket.

Her father chuckled. "Well I suppose it would be bad form for me to stop a fellow pirate from completing her conquest," he said winking at Leia. She looked at him dubiously for a moment before grinning back. He walked across the kitchen and lifted Leia down from the chair before taking one of the chocolate bars in hand. "I'll tell you what, Little Pirate," he said, crouching down to her level. "I won't tell your mother about your pirating adventure," he whispered conspirationally, "if you'll let me share this with you."

"Okay, Daddy," Little Leia replied happily.

Leia smiled at the scene before her before her. Her father had told her the story about this day, but she had been too young to actually remember it herself. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. But the sound of a key in the lock broke her out of her musings. She rushed over to the door, and was able to slip outside as her mother walked in.

~/~

Leia rushed back to the woods as fast as her legs could carry her. As much as she had enjoyed watching her younger self declare herself to be the "pirate queen" she knew that it had been incredibly reckless to hang around that long (if she was being honest with herself, it was probably reckless of her to have even begun this experiment in the first place). She needed to get back to her time as soon as possible.

She got back to the clearing without any mishaps, and once she arrived, wasted no time in creating a portal. This time she was careful to keep her footing as she concentrated on where she wanted to go (home, home, home). With one last glance over her shoulder, she jumped.

~/~

She popped back up in the exact same spot where she had left, and breathed a sigh of relief. Checking her phone, she found that she had only been two hours since the time she had left. With another exhausted sigh, she headed back to the house.

"I'm home, Mom," she called as she waked through the front door.

"I"m in the living room!" her mother called back. She followed the sound of her voice to see her mother sitting on the couch reading a book.

"Where's Dad?" she asked pulling off her jacket.

"He just texted me. He should be home in a little while," she replied, as Leia went to sit beside her.

They sat there in silence for a few minutes before her mom spoke again.

"Did you have fun at the movies with Henry, today?" she asked.

At first, Leia thought about telling her all about what had happened earlier. But after thinking about it, she decided that she would rather keep her little adventure to herself for now. After all, how often did you get to see yourself growing up?

"Yeah," she replied smiling, her mind made up. "I really, really did."


	10. Bath Time

**Tumblr Prompt: Can you do one where Emma and Killian are giving their child a bath?**

~/~

When Killian had found out that Emma was pregnant, he could not have been more elated. There had been a time in his life (which had ended not very long before) when he had given up any hope of becoming a father. Now he would have not only one child (he had long considered himself Henry's father in all the ways that mattered), but two.

However, as Emma's pregnancy progressed, he often found himself wondering whether he was indeed fit to be a father. He had finally been able to realize that he was a hero, but being the parent of a child—being the one responsible for a tiny person—felt like something much greater, much harder, and more important than defeating a few measly villains.

The main source of his misgivings was something that had caused him to experience self-doubt in the past: his hook. What if he hurt the little lad or lass? He had seen firsthand how difficult it was for David and Snow to take care of young Neal. And that was with all four of their hands in perfect working condition. Over the centuries, he had become adept at using his hook to accomplish tasks. But without it…he felt very well near useless. It was true that he did wear his prosthetic hand upon occasion, but whenever he needed to accomplish anything of importance, he wore the hook.

He had yet to hurt anyone (unintentionally) with the silver instrument. After having had it for so long, it had become second nature to keep it at a safe distance from those he cared about (as well as his own devilishly handsome face). But having it around a baby…he wasn't sure if that was the best idea. When he had voiced his concerns to Emma one night, she had simply smiled, taken his hand, and told him that everything was going to be okay. She had said that she too was worried about being a mother, but just like every other challenge that had come their way, they would meet and overcome this one together. He had nodded in response and relaxed into her arms when she had hugged him, but couldn't quite stop the small inkling of doubt that crept back into his head.

~/~

It was five months after their conversation when Killian and Emma welcomed Liam Jones into the world. When Killian looked into his son's green eyes — Emma's eyes — for the first time, he felt his heart melt. In that moment, he knew that he would do anything for the little boy in his arms. And that realization scared him more than any past adversary ever could have. If anything ever happened to this little bundle on his watch…he would never be able to forgive himself.

Fortunately, the chances for hurting his son were few and far between. He barely had time to hold his son for the first time before Henry entered the room and asked to hold his brother. Then Mary Margaret and David came, followed by Regina and Robin. Before long it seemed like the entire town was in the hospital. Each of every one of them (including Grumpy, surprisingly) was anxious to hold the baby, which only gave Killian more time to worry about all of the things that could go wrong.

~/~

With all the visitors around, Emma's recovery time passed in the blink of an eye. Before he knew it, Killian was back home, and Emma was suggesting that they give Liam a bath together. When the words left her mouth, he began to panic.

"Swan, I don't know if that's the best idea if I help."

"Of course it is. I know it seems kind of hard, but we'll figure it out together."

"I…I can't," he said, staring down at his feet. "I don't want to hurt him."

He glanced up to see her looking at him with a soft expression. She set Liam down in his crib before walking over to him, and cupping his cheek in her hand.

"I didn't realize that you were still so scared about that," she said. "But you are going to be an amazing father to Liam. You already are."

He smiled shakily back at her as she continued.

"Now I'm going to go give Liam a bath. If you're not ready to help with that yet, that's okay. I can do this by myself until you are. But I think that you are ready. I believe in you, Killian."

At her words, he felt like a huge weight was being lifted from his chest, and he found himself relaxing. He took a deep breath. "I suppose I could give it a try," he said quietly, to which Emma smiled.

~/~

Liam's first bath time proved to be a major success, with Killian and Emma working together as well as they always did. Some soap and water did end up on the floor (and on their clothes), but at the end of it, their baby could not have been any cleaner. And most importantly, neither of them had accidentally harmed Liam in any way.

Later that night, as Killian lay in bed going over the day's events in his head he came to a realization: he would never be the perfect father. The soap and water that had been splashed all over the floor was proof of that. But he didn't have to be a perfect father to be a good father. As he glanced over to where Liam lay sleeping in his crib — clean, happy, and perfectly content — he truly felt for the very first time that he was capable of doing this. Just as he had once realized that he could be a hero, he now knew that yes he—Killian Jones—was capable of being a good father. And that thought alone was enough to make him the happiest man in the world.


	11. The Date

**Tumblr Prompt: Emma tries to plan a date and do something for Killian but she can't plan a date and it turns into a disaster and Killian finds her? :)**

~/~

The Dark One had told her that she should get a hobby. While most of his suggestions had been completely useless, that singular piece of advice had actually ended up being the only useful thing that the Darkness had whispered to her. The light part of herself, the part that was still _Emma_ , could admit to herself that she did indeed need something to fill the sleepless hours of the night, something to keep her thoughts from straying into darker waters.

But what should that hobby be? The first night — after both her son and pirate had fallen asleep — she had tried all sorts of different things. She tried reading for a little while, but the book was only able to keep her interest for a few minutes. She (very grudgingly) did attempt to knit for a little while after that, but it was too monotonous, and very soon she found her thoughts again straying towards all the evil deeds that she might do if she let her guard down. Throughout the rest of the night, she tried what seemed like million different things: drawing, writing, even juggling at one point. But nothing seemed to help.

With an exasperated sigh she collapsed on the rocking chair in the corner of the room. Moonlight shone through the open window, falling on the large grandfather clock that sat up against the opposite wall. It said that it was only two o'clock in the morning. That left her with a minimum of three hours (probably four or five if she was being honest with herself) before anyone else would be awake to distract her from her thoughts.

She glanced over at the bed to where her pirate was sleeping. She hadn't had the heart to tell him that sleep was impossible for her. She knew that he would've insisted on staying up with her, making sure that she was okay. But she couldn't do that to him. Even though he put on a strong front, she could tell that he was exhausted both physically and emotionally. He needed his sleep.

After she had tucked Henry into bed in the adjacent room earlier that evening, she had returned to the chambers she shared with her pirate and had gotten into bed with him. She had been content just lie in his arms for the first hour or two, focusing only on his breathing and tight embrace. But eventually doubts and fears had started creeping their way into her mind. It was not the voice of the Dark One that plagued her; surprisingly it had been content to leave her alone for a while. No, all of the worries that had begun to swirl around in her mind were her own fears, _Emma's_ fears. _What if they couldn't defeat the darkness? What if they never found a way? What if she hurt her parents, Henry, Killian?_

Eventually it had become too much, which was when she had thrown off the covers and thrown herself into every random activity she could think of. And none of them had proved to be the solution to her problem. So here she was, sitting in a rocking chair, awaiting the morning sun with nothing to occupy her time but worry.

The hours passed by slowly with no one to keep her company. The only things that indicated any passage of time were the steady ticking of the clock and the changing of the shadows in the room. However, around four in the morning, inspiration finally struck.

She knew a way that she could keep her mind of the Darkness.

~/~

The next morning, she kicked Killian out of their chambers, telling him to come back at noon for a surprise. She then went to find Granny. The two of them spent the rest of the morning going back and forth between the castle's kitchen and the Diner, preparing food for what Emma hoped would be the greatest date of all time. As they cooked she made sure to avoid using magic, relishing the physical and mental exertion that everything required.

Five minutes before Killian was supposed to return she stood in their room, surveying everything with a happy look upon her face. The food smelled delicious, and was set out upon a large white blanket on the floor. It was the setting for the perfect indoor picnic. Looking around the room, the only thing that seemed to be missing were some decorations. Wanting to fix that problem, she closed her eyes and concentrated. A moment later, the room was adorned with various different flowers and a few candles. Emma smiled to herself; now everything truly was perfect.

She didn't have long to bask in her feeling of contentment before she was hit by a sobering realization: her magic was no longer Light. She had used Dark Magic and Dark Magic always came with a price. _How could I have been so reckless?_ she thought as a jolt of extreme anger flowed through her. And that one moment of strong emotion was all it took for her to lose control. All the candles in the room flared up, setting everything ablaze. She stared at the flames in complete and total shock for a few moments before snapping back to reality and concentrating on putting it out. The fire died down a moment later, but it was already too late; everything had been burned to a crisp. Tears began to form in her eyes as she waved her hand and made everything vanish. The room looked just as it had that morning, but all of her hard work had literally gone up in smoke.

Emma felt her heart sinking. This was supposed to have been a special afternoon for her, for them. It was supposed to have been a simple afternoon when they could have forgotten about Dark Ones and Curses and Saviors. They were supposed to have had a chance to be themselves, to just be Emma and Killian for a few hours. And she had ruined it. The Darkness inside of her had ruined it.

She was so focused on everything that had gone wrong that she didn't hear the footsteps of Killian behind her as he walked into the room. His, "Hello, love," startled her out of her thoughts and she jumped, turning around quickly to see him standing in the doorway with a bright smile on his face. As soon as he saw the tears sliding down her cheeks, his expression changed from one of complete elation to one of concern. He didn't say anything, just simply opened his arms in an inviting gesture. She walked forward and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest as her shoulders began to shake with vigor.

As she cried, he rubbed soothing circles into her back, holding her tight and not saying a word. Eventually her sobs began to subside and she hesitantly tilted her chin up so that she could look into his eyes. "Hey, Swan," he said softly, giving her a small smile which she couldn't help but return. Taking her hand, he led her toward the bed where he sat down next to her. "What's the matter, my love?" he asked softly.

Trying not to cry again, she told him all about the date she had planned, and how her magic had completely ruined it. She told him about how afraid she was that the Darkness had already taken hold of her. She told him about how badly she wanted all of this to be over.

As she talked he didn't say anything. He seemed to realize that all she needed in that moment was to get her worries off of her chest. When she was done talking, they sat there in comfortable silence for a for a few moments as he massaged her hand reassuringly.

"Everything's going to be alright, Swan," he said finally, breaking the silence. "As flattered as I am at what you tried to do for me today, it doesn't bother me in the slightest that we weren't able to have lunch like you wanted. Just being here, being here with _you_ , is enough for me. And it might take us a while for us to overcome this challenge, love, but we will overcome it. After all I have yet to see you fail."

At his words, Emma felt as though a huge weight had left her. Leaning forward, she pressed a soft kiss to his lips before pulling away in order to envelop him in a tight hug. He was right. The Darkness was a challenge that they had to face, and it was arguably the most difficult one that they had ever encountered. But neither she nor Killian had ever been one to back down from a challenge. They would defeat the Darkness together, and when they did…

…she would give this date a second try. And this time she would get it right.


	12. Enough

**Tumblr Prompt: i dont know if youre still taking prompts and if youre not its ok. if you could do one where emma still occasionally calls killian hook and it kind of bothers him but she tells him its because she fell in love with the pirate too?**

~/~

He tries not to let it bother him, when his moniker slips past her lips. In the time he's known her, she has come to use his given name — his true name — more than his nickname. But she still uses it sometimes, still calls him _Hook_ sometimes.

It's a hard name: hard like his heart had been when he chose it for himself, hard like the curve of the silver metal gleaming at his wrist. The hard consonants of it are so unlike the lilting vowels of his true name. _Hook_. _Killian_. At one time he could pretend that they were the same. But he knows that is not true.

Killian is his kindness, his gentleness, his ability to love. Hook is his anger, his selfishness, his cunning. It's a name that was his protection, his armor. A name that for centuries struck fear into the hearts of his adversaries. It's the pirate in him. It's the part of him that he wants to bury forever, that he wouldn't mind losing as a result of the curses that seem to be all too abundant around here. But at the same time, he can't hate it entirely, no matter how much he wishes he could. For as much as he hates the pirate — and he really, truly does — it was the pirate that granted him his two hundred extra years. It was the pirate that allowed him to live long enough to meet _her_.

But for all that the pirate has given him, that doesn't mean he wants to be reminded of him, least of all by Emma. He knows that she feels something strong for him — something real. But he can't help but wonder sometimes, during the long lonely hours of the night, how someone like her could want to be with someone like him.

He knows that Emma loves him. Really, he does. He doubted it for so long, but now he is finally ready to admit it to himself. Even though she has yet to say the words, her feelings are written clearly in her bright green eyes, which have always been an open book to him. He doesn't want anything to come between them now, not when they are so blissfully, incandescently happy.

So whenever the word _Hook_ comes from her mouth, he simply bites back the words he wants to say (the plea for her to stop) and smiles. It's difficult though. There are times when he wants to ask her if he is enough or is he too broken — still too much the villain of the past — to ever be worthy of her. In his mind he _knows_ that she is in this for the long haul, just as much as he. But as hard as he tries, he cannot shake the nagging feeling that she despises that part of him, and that one day it will become too much and she will leave.

If she did leave he wouldn't blame her. She deserves so much more than what he can offer her. If she decided that she didn't want him anymore, he wouldn't go after her. After all, he loves her too much to ever subject her to a life she does not want.

~/~

As firm as his resolve is to never tell Emma how he feels, he is human, and he slips up one night. After a night out with David he comes back to his room at Granny's slightly inebriated. He expected to be alone, and is surprised to see her sitting on the chair in the corner of the room, reading. Normally, he would be overjoyed to see her here, ecstatic at the thought of spending time with her. But for some reason all he can think about tonight is how he doesn't deserve her, and the alcohol in his system is enough to make him forget his earlier resolution and lay his insecurities out before her.

"How can you want me?" he asks, causing her too look up from the book she is reading and stare across the room at him. When her eyes meet his, he's struck by how beautiful she is, how perfect she is. Normally, such thoughts would give him such joy (joy that this kind, smart, amazing woman had chosen him of all people), but tonight all it does is make him doubt whether she did the right thing by choosing him.

"How could someone like you ever want to be with someone like me?" he whispers before crossing the room to sit on the bed, resting his elbow on his knee and burying his face in his hand. "You deserve someone whole, Swan," he continues as a single tear runs down his cheek. He squeezes his eyes shut and tries to pulls himself together, so wrapped up in his own self-loathing that he doesn't realize that Emma has gotten up and wandered over to him until he feels the dip of the bed next to him and the feel of soft fingers softly carding through his hair. A moment later, she takes his face in both of her hands, lifting his head so that she can look into his eyes.

"Hey," she says quietly, a frown furrowing her brow. "Where is this coming from?" she asks, releasing his face in favor of holding his right hand in her left. He stays silent for a moment, already feeling ashamed for his slip. She must read his hesitance from his face because she once again forces him to look at her. "You can tell me," she says. "I can tell that you're scared, but I've told you about the things of scared of. Let me do the same for you. Please. Let me help you like you've helped me." Looking into her eyes, he is taken aback by the sincerity he finds there. He can hardly believe that it's there, but it gives him the courage to speak.

So he tells her. He tells her everything that he's been keeping bottled up inside. About how he doesn't like it when she calls him "Hook." About how it makes him wish with his entire being that he could be a whole man for her. About how unworthy he still feels. When she quietly asks why he's never said anything before this point, he stares at their joined hands while he tells her that he didn't want to upset her. He tells her that rationally he knows that the hook doesn't bother her, and that he didn't want to burden her with his own insecurities.

She doesn't say anything at first, and for a moment he's afraid that he's said too much, that she's getting ready to leave. He wouldn't blame her. But when he glances up at her face to tell her that it's okay for her to walk away and leave, he's surprised to see tears running down her face. He's confused, but that doesn't stop him from instinctively reaching out to wipe them away with his fingers.

"After everything we've been through how could you believe that I wouldn't want you?" she asks in a broken whisper as he removes his hand.

"You deserve someone whole, love."

"You are whole! Just because you have a hook for a hand —"

"That hook belongs to the _pirate_ ," he yells, causing her to jump. Now even more angry with himself (he scared her, why did he have to scare her?), he once again buries his face in his hand.

He expects her to get up and leave. He expects her to tell him to come find her again once he's sober. What he doesn't expect is to feel her small hand rubbing soothing circles on his back. He glances up at her, but doesn't find any trace of the fear he expected to see written across her face. Instead, all he sees is compassion staring back at him through her green eyes.

"The pirate is a part of you," she says quietly. "An important part. It was the pirate that got us out of Neverland, that helped get my son back. It was the pirate that helped us defeat Zelena. It was the pirate that fought those black nights on the balcony of that castle and kept me safe. I don't care that you've got a little pirate in you," she says, staring into his eyes, "just as long as you can be a good man too."

Not knowing what to say, he lunges forward and kisses her. He still doesn't know how he got so bloody lucky. He's still not sure how he came to be here, with her wrapped up in his arms. But when she kisses him back he can tell himself he's worthy, even if he's not entirely sure he believes it.

~/~

When they pull apart to take a breath he can feel all his doubts rushing back, but she — brilliant woman that she is — quells them once again.

"You're enough for me, Killian," she whispers quietly against his lips, her forehead resting against his. "You've always been enough."

And he finally believes it.


	13. Too Good

**Tumblr Prompt: 2. "You're too good for this world."**

~/~

He's funny like this, she'll admit. Sure, she's a little annoyed at having to walk him back to his dorm room after he had too much to drink, but she knows he'd do the same for her if their situations were reversed.

Really, he's not too bad. She's got one of his arms slung across her shoulders just in case, but he's walking fairly straight and only wobbles occasionally. He's mostly coherent too. The only thing he's said that hasn't made complete sense was how he wants to take her sailing on the " _Rolly Joger"_ sometime (his brother does in fact own a small sailboat named the _Jolly Roger_ , so even though he's mixed up the letters, he's not as quite as out of it as his statement might make him sound).

When they get back to his room, she takes the key from his pocket and lets them in. Robin isn't back yet (he's probably still at the party, maybe finally working up the courage to talk to Regina), so she turns on the light and leads him across the room to lay him down in his bed. Once he's settled, he looks up at her and smiles.

"Thank you for taking care of me, Swan," he slurs. "You're too good for this world, love. Like all those cin…cim…cimmanon rolls on the interwebs."

"So are you," she whispers back, trying to hold back her chuckle, but he's already snoring. Shaking her head, she takes a seat in the chair by his desk, deciding to stay a while longer just to make sure that he really is okay. While she sits in such close proximity to him, she can't keep her thoughts from straying into more dangerous territory: how she feels about him. She's been trying to deny it for some time, her crush on him, but the fact that she finds him adorable even while completely drunk shows just how far gone she is. Maybe she'll finally work up the courage to tell him tomorrow.

After she teases him about the cinnamon roll line, of course.


	14. Useless

**Tumblr Prompt: 9. "I'm sick of feeling useless."**

~/~

She pushes the door to their room open, and sees him jump before he brings his hand up to his face and begins to rub at his eyes furiously. But he isn't quick enough; she was able to see the tears streaming down his cheeks before he had the chance to wipe them away. And even if she hadn't, his normally bright blue eyes are red and puffy around the edges. As much as he's trying to hide it, she can tell.

Killian Jones has been crying.

"I thought you were going to meet Regina," he says, breaking the silence, his voice hoarse.

"I was, but I forgot my cloak here," she says as she crosses the room to sit next to him. "Are you alright?"

"Peachy, Swan," he says smiling. The smile doesn't meet his eyes. The corner of his lips still tremble, as though he's trying to keep himself from sobbing again.

"Killian," she says, reaching her hand up to cup his face. "I know you, and I know you're not okay. Something is bothering you. Now why don't you tell me what it is so that we can fix it?"

And those words are all it takes to make him unravel once again. He rests his forehead against her shoulder as he begins to cry silently. Her heart aches for him. She wants to know what's bothering him so that she can fix it. But she doesn't know what to do. So she does the only thing that she can in that moment: she wraps her arms around his neck and rocks him back and forth until his sobs subside.

"I'm sorry, love," he says pulling away and sniffling a little. "I didn't mean for you to see that. I know that you're going through a lot, and I didn't want to trouble you with anything more. But I feel like we're no closer to defeating the Darkness than we were when we got here. And I'm sick of feeling so bloody useless."

Hearing his words, Emma has to fight to keep her own tears at bay. "I feel like I should be the one apologizing to you," she whispers quietly. "After all it's my fault we're here. But don't worry," she continues, forcing herself to be strong, to be brave. "I know that everything looks bleak now, but we'll find a way to get through this."

At her words, he looks back at her and gives her a small, albeit genuine, smile.

"Aye, Swan. We will. _Together_."


	15. Happy

**Tumblr Prompt: 6. "H-how long have you been standing there?"**

~/~

Ever since the Darkness left her, she feels happier, lighter. She feels better than she ever did before. She wonders if — like the Horcruxes in a certain one of her favorite books — she didn't realize how much of a burden it was until it was gone. But she decides not to question it, to simply relish the joy that she feels in the here and now.

And if relishing the joy that she feels in the here and now means dancing around as she cleans to songs from eighties dance movies, then that's what it means. When "Footlose" comes on, she kicks her feet in time to the music and dances with the vacuum cleaner, using it as her dance partner.

With the loudness of the machine and her earbuds pressed firmly in her ears, she doesn't hear him enter the room. So when she turns around to see him standing behind her she jumps. He stands there with a bright grin on his face, his shoulders shaking with laughter.

"H-how long have you been standing there?" she asks, although she's pretty sure she knows.

"Long enough," he says still chuckling. "I must say Swan, I'm a little disappointed that you would use this machine rather than myself as your partner."

She grins back at him. "You must think I look so stupid, dancing around like this."

"No, love, not stupid," he says, his smile soft. "Happy, yes. But never stupid."


	16. Beautiful

**Tumblr Prompt: 18. "I think you're beautiful."**

 **~/~**

She finds it when she's brushing her hair out one morning: a grey hair. At first, she just shrugs it off. _It had to happen eventually right? It's nothing to worry about, right?_

Except as the day goes on, she can't get it out of her head. _I'm only thirty, it's too early to have a grey hair, right? Killian doesn't have a grey hair. He's like a billion years old and I've never seen one on_ his _head._

She just doesn't think that it's fair.

And she tells him so that night as they're getting ready for bed. "How are you still so perfect?" she whines, only half joking. "How do you still look so young?"

He raises an eyebrow questioningly. "You know perfectly well how I've retained by dashing good looks for so long, Swan. What's this really about?"

"This is going to sound stupid, but I found a grey hair this morning."

"That's why your worried? You found _one_ grey hair?"

"I know I shouldn't be, but I can't help but think about the fact that in a couple decades I'll be all old and wrinkly and grey."

"Well, I think you're beautiful, love. And I'll still think so even when you're 'all wrinkly and grey' as you say."

"Promise?"

"Aye, love. I promise."


	17. In Love

**Tumblr Prompt: 1. "Oh my God. You're in love with her."**

~/~

He'd caught himself staring at her more often these days. He didn't know why, it just seemed to happen. They had been friends since he had met her in the dining hall the very first day of freshman year. He had always cared about her. But now he was starting to feel differently toward her.

He caught himself thinking about what it would be like to be with her. To hold her hand. To kiss her. But as soon as those thoughts entered his head, he pushed them away. They were friends and he didn't want to screw that up.

It was at a party on Halloween night their senior year when he realized just how deep in he was. She had asked him to get her a beer from the cooler, and he had stuttered and blushed like a bloody idiot — and had almost dropped the stupid thing — in an attempt to get her one. She (thankfully) acted like she hadn't noticed, before walking across the room to talk with some of their other friends.

"Oh my God. You're in love with her," he heard a voice behind him exclaim. He turned around to see their friend Ruby standing there, a huge grin spread across her face.

"Whatever do you mean, love?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant, and fighting the urge to scratch behind his ear. Despite his mental protestations, he could feel heat building in his face, spreading all the way out to the tips of his ears.

"Oh my gosh, you're blushing!" Ruby squealed. "You really are in love with Emma!"

He sighed. There was no use denying it anymore. At least not to Ruby, who had clearly been able to see right through him.

"Maybe I am," he said, looking across the room to where Emma was talking animatedly with Mary Margaret. "Maybe I am."


	18. Angsty Post 5x08 Drabble

"How could you do this to me?!" he asks, outraged.

"You should be grateful!" she yells back. "I saved your life!"

"You didn't save me! You made me into the very thing I hate most in this world! I can't believe you would be so selfish."

"Selfish! You want to talk about being _selfish_?! Fine! Let's talk about how you were going to leave me alone, just like everyone else in my life has! I told you I couldn't lose you! And yet you were willing to leave me so that _you_ wouldn't have to fight the Darkness," she spats out, her voice dripping with venom.

He has no retort for that, nothing to say to justify what he did. And apparently neither does she. They stand there together, breathing heavily, chests panting before it all becomes too much.

They come together in a kiss. A kiss that is fiery, passionate, rough. He can feel the anger in her lips, she can feel his frustration. But there's something else in that kiss, something softer. Something that — in this moment — they are both loathe to admit is there.

Something that says _I'm sorry_. (Something that says _I forgive you_.) Something that says _don't leave me_. (Something that says _I won't_.) Something that starts with an _L._ (Something that ends with an _E_.)

He doesn't know if they'll ever be free. She doesn't know if there's any way to destroy the Darkness. But there is one fact of which they are both starkly aware: whether the are Light or Dark; whether they are the Captain and the Swan or the Dark Ones; whether they help each other or hurt each other worse than anyone else ever has, one thing will always be certain.

Their love for each other can never be destroyed.


	19. Stay

_Stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, staystaystaystaystaystaystaystaystaystaysta_ y _…_

That's the only word running through her head — as he lays there on the floor of the diner, blood pouring from his wound — when she begs him to stay with her. That's all she wants. For once in her life, she just wants someone to _stay_.

Later, in the meadow, her whole world crumbles when he asks her to let him go. She can't stop her mind from straying to the last time they were here. She hadn't realized it then, but that day — the day with him, her, the white dress, the flowers, the kiss (all of which screamed _wedding_ at her) — was the first time the word _future_ started to creep into her mind, terrifying as it was. And now he's asking her to give that future up.

But she can't. She can't lose him. She's lost so many people. But not him.

Never him.

So she _makes_ him stay.

~/~

Three weeks later, she can finally admit to herself that she always knew that it would come to this. That he would sacrifice himself to save her. Through it all, a quiet voice — a voice that was all Emma — told her that he was too much of a good man, too much of a hero (too much the man she fell in love with) to let the Darkness be destroyed any other way.

He tells her that he wishes he could stay. Tells her that he wants to do so more than he has ever wanted to do anything before. But he can't. Not like this.

She tells him she understands.

She's only half-telling the truth.

Because even when he makes that final sacrifice — when he drives Excalibur through his own heart — and sinks to his knees, she can't keep that word from leaving her lips as she surges forward to catch him while the light leaves his eyes:

 _"_ _Stay."_


	20. The Wedding Video

**Thanks to ahsagitarius on Tumblr for the prompt!**

~/~

They had just finished watching a movie like they did every Friday night when Charlie — probably in an attempt to stay up later — suggested that they watch some home videos for a while. Both Emma and Killian enjoyed pulling them out from time to time in order to look back on how wonderful their lives had become, so despite the late hour they agreed.

It took them a little while to decide which one to watch. There were twelve years' worth of videos to go through, which included everything from birthday parties to sailing trips. Finally, Leia asked if they could watch her parents' wedding video, insisting that she wanted to see what her mother's wedding dress had looked like. Henry — who still came over for movie night from time to time despite having struck out on his own — jokingly said that he had been there and that he didn't need to watch it again. But in the end, it was indeed the wedding video that they selected.

Watching the first part of the video was a blast. Charlie and Leia laughed as the camera panned around to everyone finding their seats before the wedding, shouting loudly about how different everyone looked. When Emma walked down the aisle on David's arm in a simple white gown, Leia clapped her hands in excitement at how beautiful her mother looked. As the wedding continued, everyone watched in quiet fascination until they got to the vows. As soon as the Emma on screen began reciting, the Emma in the room heard a small, almost imperceptible sniffle next to her.

Turning her head towards Killian who was sitting next to her, she saw tears streaming down his cheeks. "Hey," she said, reaching out toward him to take his hand, "it's okay."

"Why are you crying, Daddy?" Charlie asked, his voice tinged with panic.

"We don't have to watch this one if it makes you sad, Daddy!" said Leia. "We can watch another!"

"I'm not sad," said Killian, chuckling through his tears. "I just love your mother very much. And this video just helped to remind me how much. I'm alright, little love," he said, reaching out to bop Leia on the nose.

The twins looked confused for a moment, clearly doubting whether their father was indeed okay. But after an encouraging nod from both their mother and their older brother, they looked back towards the TV to continue watching.

Emma continued to stare at her husband, watching as the flow of tears finally stopped. Reaching out timidly, she used the hand that was not holding Killian's to brush them away. Killian smiled at her gratefully and squeezed her hand in silent reassurance before they turned their attention back towards one of the most important days in their lives, the day they officially became a family.


	21. Neighbors AU

**For in-spirational on Tumblr. Prompt: Could you write a cs neighbours au? make it super fluffy!**

~/~

It started with sugar. She had literally just finished unpacking the last of her - admittedly few - boxes when she heard a knock at the door of her apartment. Grumbling to herself how she couldn't get a moment of peace and quiet she dragged her exhausted body (she may not have had a lot, but moving was still hard) to the door, not even bothering to check the peephole before wrenching it open. She had a whole string of curses lined up on her tongue for whoever stood on the other side, but when she was faced with a pair of startlingly blue eyes, every single rebuke died on her tongue.

The man standing on the other was attractive. Even in her tired state, she could admit that. His dark hair sat messily atop his head, and a smattering of three-day scruff covered his strong jaw. While he wasn't a particularly big guy, the tightness of his t-shirt and jeans indicated that he was very much in shape. But as attractive as he was, she couldn't stop her gaze from being drawn back to his blue eyes.

"Sorry to bother you, love," he said timidly, breaking her out of her perusal of his face. "But I was wondering if you might have some sugar I could borrow?" he said, as his right hand lifted up to scratch behind his ear.

At those words she froze, feeling her anger coming back in full force. He obviously didn't need sugar, he was just trying to flirt. Of course someone as attractive as him would think that a new neighbor moving in would be a perfect opportunity to try and get laid.

"Look, buddy," she said, her tone short and clipped. "I wasn't born yesterday. I know what this is. But I'm not interested in flirting with you or doing anything else with you for that matter. So why don't you take your 'sugar'," she said, making air-quotes with her fingers, "excuse and go hit on somebody else?" she finished, breathing heavily. For a moment, she considered slamming the door in his face but decided she'd rather wait to see his reaction.

For a moment he looked taken aback, but his expression quickly morphed from one of mortification to one of calmness. "I'm not trying to hit on you, love," he said evenly. "I'm babysitting my niece, you see, and she wanted to bake cookies. Unfortunately, I don't have enough sugar to get the job done. I tried some other people I know in the building, but they either weren't home or didn't have any."

Listening to his explanation, Emma felt her face going red. "One second," she said, before turning around and rushing off towards the kitchen. Not giving herself a chance to think about it, she grabbed a whole bag sugar before rushing back to the door and practically throwing it into his hands.

"Hope you have fun with your niece," she squeaked out before slamming the door in his face. She could tell he was still there and wondered if he would knock again, but eventually, she heard the sound of retreating footsteps, leaving her to wallow in her embarrassment alone.

~/~

Later that night, she heard another knock on the door. She opened it to see a tupperware filled with chocolate chip cookies sitting on the ground, a sticky note pasted on top of it. She reached down to pick it up and brought it back inside. She set the container down on the counter and peeled the sticky note off.

 _My niece and I seemed to find ourselves with an abundance of sugar this afternoon_ , the note read. _We baked a few more cookies than was necessary, so I wanted to give them to you to let you know that there's no hard feelings about earlier._

Emma groaned. She had hoped that if she ignored the situation, everything would fizzle out and she could just ignore him like she usually ignored her neighbors. But she couldn't do that now. Not without seeming like a much worse person than she actually was. She would have to apologize, and it would have to be good.

~/~

The next day, she stood at his door, a tin of cupcakes balanced in her had. When he opened the door, she saw a huge smile spread across his face.

"Hello, love!" he said, and she hoped that the hesitant smile that spread across his face meant that he truly wasn't angry with her. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I wanted to thank you for the cookies," she said, feeling her face heating up again. "And to say sorry for being so prickly with you yesterday," she continued, holding the tin of cupcakes out to him.

He chuckled as he took the tin from her. "As I said in my note, there's no hard feelings," he said good-naturedly. "My name's Killian, by the way. And yours?"

"Emma. Emma Swan."

"Swan," he said slowly as if testing out the way the name sounded on his tongue. "I quite like that."

"Thanks," she replied, feeling her blush go even deeper. "But yeah, I just wanted to let you know why I was so short with you yesterday. It's no excuse really, but I'd just moved in and I was really tired from hauling everything up the stairs."

He laughed again. "That's completely understandable, Swan. But if you really want to make it up to me, do me one favor?"

"Sure," she said.

"Let me take you to dinner," he said. "Not as a date," he continued, seeing the shocked expression that she knew must be covering her face. "Just as friends and to get to know my new neighbor."

"Okay," she replied. "Just as long as we're clear this isn't a date."

"Of course, Swan," he said. "You have nothing to worry about from me; I'll be a perfect gentleman."

~/~

They went out to a pizza place down the street, and during the entire dinner - true to his word - he was nothing less than a gentleman. The conversation flowed easily and Emma found herself having more fun than she had had in a long time. At times, she almost found herself disappointed that it wasn't a date.

When they got back to the building he walked with her to her door. "Well, Swan, I hope you had just as much fun as I did tonight and that we can go forward as friends," he said, holding out his hand.

Emma stared at his outstretched hand, her heart and her mind warring against each other. In a split second, the former won out, and she blurted out "Go out with me!"

"What?" Killian asked, his outstretched hand still hanging in the air.

I know I said I wasn't here to flirt or anything. But you seem like a really good guy. Would you want to go out with me?"

"Are you sure, love," he asked?

"Yes," she replied.

"In that case, can I...?" he said, lifting his hand slightly as if to cup her cheek.

"Yes," she said again, leaning her cheek into his palm and closing her eyes. They both leaned forward, and their lips met in a gentle whisper of a kiss.

"Well, Swan," Killian said as they pulled apart, "I know you only just asked me out, but it appears as though we may have already had our first date."

"Oh, shut up," she said as she leaned in again.


	22. A Hero

**Prompt from Anonymous on Tumblr: Can u write a fic where Killian realizes that people other than just Emma truly care about him**

~/~

Getting his appendix out hadn't been a particularly fun ordeal. He had woken up in the middle of the night to a terrible pain in his abdomen - and despite his many protests that he was (probably)fine - his Swan had insisted on getting him to the hospital as quickly as magically possible. Despite the fact that he was back in the hospital - a place he had hoped to never visit as a patient again - he was indeed glad that she had. Apparently, if left untreated, such an affliction could be deadly, and he had no plans on dying (again) anytime soon, especially not on account of something that was so easily avoidable.

Dr. Whale had wanted to keep him for two days after the procedure to make sure that everything was healing fine. The first day had been fine. While it wasn't the worst thing that had happened to him - being stabbed by Excalibur itself was slightly more trying than a simple appendectomy - the whole procedure had been very trying. He mostly spent the day sleeping, and had a few brief conversations with Emma while he was awake.

The second day, however, was another matter entirely. While he was by no means back to his normal self, he was still unaccustomed to having to stay still for so long. His time as a pirate captain had meant that he had had to learn how to get over injuries quickly. If you were out of commission too long on account of an injury or illness, it always invited the idea of mutiny. So he had learned to put on a brave face and ignore his injuries over the years.

But while he would always be a pirate at heart, there was really no reason for him to be pushing himself to his limits anymore. He did argue with Emma a little bit, hoping that maybe by pulling out the "puppy-dog eyes" as she liked to call them, he could convince her to let him come home early. It hadn't worked. Emma had declared that he was staying, and she would be back in a few hours when she was done with her shift at the sheriff's station. She had given him a quick peck on the lips, and then she was gone.

That was how he found himself sitting in a hospital bed, bored out of his mind, with nothing other than terrible daytime T.V. - which he had not yet quite been able to develop a taste for - to keep him company. He was just contemplating trying to go back to sleep when he heard a soft knock.

"Want some company?" Belle asked from the doorway, holding Gideon in her arms.

"Belle!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Emma was just at Granny's picking up some coffee for her and David. She was saying how she felt bad she couldn't spend the whole day with you, so I thought that I'd come by and keep you company if that's alright."

"I would love that," he replied. "Truly."

He and Belle had a lovely few hours talking about books and how fast Gideon was growing up before she had to leave to put the baby down for his nap. But almost as soon as she had walked out, Henry came walking in, saying that he had gotten permission from Snow to spend his lunch break at the hospital keeping Killian company. And when Henry left, David walked in, saying that he wanted to use his own lunch break to see how his son-in-law was doing.

For the rest of the day, there was a seemingly endless stream of people in his room. When David left, Ella had shown up with Alexandra in tow, and after that, Ruby and Granny had strolled in. Towards the end of the day, even Regina had made an appearance which - although slightly awkward - had seemed to be of her very own volition that stemmed from genuine concern for his well-being. The last guest of the day had been Leroy, who - although he spent the entire time complaining about some feud he was in with Dopey - actually hadn't been bad company.

Not long after Leroy had left, Emma walked in.

"Hey!" she said. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to get here earlier. David would have taken over, but there was some stuff today that required a little magic," she said as she walked over to greet him with a kiss.

"That's alright, love," he said after they broke the kiss. "I had a surprisingly lovely day."

"Really?" she asked. "What happened?"

He told her about the day he'd had and the number of people who had decided to take time out of their days to come and visit him.

"I didn't realize that so many people cared about me," he said once he had finished.

Emma smiled. "I'm not," she said.

"Really, love?" he asked. "Why not?"

She chuckled. "When are you going to realize, you silly pirate?" she asked. "You're a hero. The people of this town - you might still be intimidating to them - but they love you."

"You really think so?" he asked. While he knew he had managed to get into the good graces of Emma's family, it still surprised him to think that others cared for him.

"I know so," she said, and looking at the sincerity in her eyes, Killian finally allowed himself to believe that it was true.


End file.
